Through The Cracks
by Greensneakers1998
Summary: "His dark eyes pierced into hers as he strolled past with an ambling, but purposeful, corrupt gracelessness. Following her line of sight Castle froze. Detective Kate Beckett held their young sons closer, unable to shield their innocent faces from Pakenham's dirty glare as he was led by." When their two sons are kidnapped, there is no one more motivated to solve the case.
1. Chapter 1: Something About That Guy

Kate Beckett let out a small sigh of relief from her desk chair, pushing a lock of her hair behind her ear as she straightened up the case file, placing it on top of her 'storage' stack. She leant back in her chair, stretching her arms out in front of herself contentedly. The case was finished; Mr Jace Masters was going behind bars where he belonged, and she was going home to her family, where she belonged.

She watched as Ryan strode casually over to her, "All nice and clean," He folded his arms, already in his jacket, ready to move out for the day, standing right in front of her, "Masters is going away till the trial, then hopefully for a long while after. Shame we couldn't pin anything on Pakenham, that guy gives me the creeps." Ryan grimaced.

Kate nodded in agreement, rolling her chair back to the desk and gently pressing the switch on her computer, "Well, he's sneaky, but we'll get him next time Ryan." She had to admit though; there was something about this particular guy, Duke Pakenham, which sent a chill sparking across her skin, the way he had looked at her in the interrogation, with pure unadulterated hatred. He had one of those faces, even though he looked like your average middle-aged white guy, with brown hair and eyes, thin lines on his brow, a shadow of stubble and a small scar on his upper lip, he somehow seemed ugly. She banished the unsavoury thought of his face, and collected the last of her things as it drifted from her minds-eye.

"Where's Espo?" Kate asked.

Ryan cocked his head suggestively, "Wandered down to the morge about an hour ago, haven't seen him since."

"Uh huh," Kate bit her lip, straightening her stationary, standing and beginning the walk out, she began to smile at the thought of home.

The noise of the elevator interrupted her thoughts as she reached the hallway. The scuffle and tap of four pairs of small feet running across wooden panels was strikingly familiar. And so was the chorus of "Mommy" as two little boys dressed in identical blue jerseys barrelled toward her at top speed. They were identical in every physical feature; in the length of their steps, the curve of their jaws, and the brightness of their cobalt blue eyes. It looked like home had found her first. Alex was the first to slam into her legs, always the leader, closely followed by Joey. The boys were sporting identical, unnervingly Castle-like grins as they gazed lovingly up at her, their heads, . But, happy as she was to see then, it was a bad idea for them to be in the precinct, which of course meant there was only one possible person in the world that could have brought them.

That's when he appeared, well dressed as ever, carrying two little red backpacks in his fist, his blue eyes twinkling. He held his hands up in surrender, the bags still dangling, as his wife shot him a withering look, "It's their fault. I was bombarded; they kept asking to go to the precinct to see you." Castle blamed his sons.

"So you gave in?" Kate said, exasperated yet amused, "Parenting 101 Castle: Don't give in."

Kate swung Joey up onto her right hip; he kissed her cheek without saying a word and then nuzzled into her neck. Joey didn't talk much; he didn't seem to feel the need. Alex hopped cheerfully over to Ryan, his tiny baby teeth shining.

"Hey buddy," Ryan greeted the little boy cheerfully, ruffling his hair, picking his keys up off his desk, "Gotta' get home now." He looked up at Beckett and Castle, "Promised I'd cook tonight. See you two tomorrow." And with that he strode away, doing up his coat buttons as he went.

Alex skipped back over to his mother, grabbing her hand and holding it to his chubby cheek, bringing big 'puppy-dog' eyes up to meet her own, "Can we have Dinosaurs tonight?" Kate smiled, sharing a knowing look with Castle as he leant against the frame of the arch; the dinosaur shaped chicken pieces were the boys' favourite.

"No, not tonight Sweetheart, tomorrow okay?" She squeezed Alex's hand.

Just then, Beckett's smile faltered, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, like a cold chill had just wafted through, but the temperature in the precinct was the same as ever. She watched as Pakenham, the man she had tried so hard to exile from her thoughts, was led past her, escorted by a uniformed officer. His dark eyes pierced into hers as he strolled past with an ambling, but purposeful, corrupt gracelessness. Following her line of sight Castle froze. Detective Kate Beckett held their young sons closer, unable to shield their innocent faces from Pakenham's dirty glare as he was led by. Joey whimpered, gripping the back of his mother's blazer as tight as he could. Rick, sensing Kate's distress, moved quickly take Alex's other hand and stand in front of her, hiding his family from Duke Pakenham as he entered the elevator. As soon as he was gone, Beckett could breathe normally again.

"Mommy," Joey said in a quiet voice, "Who was that man?"

Kate's chin trembled a bit; she hated the idea of a criminal she had angered seeing Alex and Joey, "A bad man, but you don't need to worry about him okay."

"Yeah," Castle put on a smile, and grabbed a giggling Alex, placing him on his shoulders, "You never have to worry about any bad people, because your mommy is a hero." Rick looked straight into Kate's eyes, "And we'll always be there to protect you."

"Even from Aliens?" Alex questioned, placing his small hands over his dad's forehead to help hold himself upright.

"Yes, even from Aliens." Castle chuckled.

Kate felt Joey relax against her again, "Thank you," Kate mouthed.

Rick gave her a thin-lipped smile, leaning in to give her a quick, soft kiss, before asking, "Home?"

Kate nodded, "Home." She agreed. Rick took her hand, Alex still balanced on his shoulders, and a weary Joey held against her hip.

As they entered the elevator, just as the doors closed, Castle added, "But if the Aliens want someone to eat, I'm giving your mother to them first." Kate slapped his arm causing Alex to burst out into giggles.

**This will be a story if it gets enough attention, or maybe if I just really feel like doing it. :D**


	2. Chapter 2: It Hurts

Kate Beckett woke to the smell of coffee, the faint sound of her Mother-in-law humming in the kitchen, the hiss of a frying pan, and the soft creak and patter of the little feet from the floor above her, in the nursery. A sliver of light slid from behind the curtain and fell across her face. Kate pulled the bed sheet up over her shoulder, closing her eyes tight, not willing to wake just yet. The bed dipped as he sat beside her, the dark smell of coffee intensifying.

Castle placed the cups of coffee on her nightstand. He was still dressed in the t-shirt and boxers he had slept in. He ran comforting fingers down her arm, pulling the bed sheet down with them. Rick leant down and kissed the exposed soft skin between her collar bone and neck, "Morning, Sleeping Beauty." He pulled the bed sheet down to the base of her spine, and rested his large, familiar hand on the dip of her waist. She shivered.

Kate huffed audibly, burying her face further into the creases of her pillow in an attempt to shut out the light.

Castle chuckled, "Or am I talking to the Dragon." He bent over her again, this time he brushed her hair from her face and left a warm kiss just below her ear.

"You've been reading too many bedtime fairy tales." His wife murmured shuffling closer to his warm form, her eyes finally fluttering open, she wiped away the sleep.

"Sorry I had to wake you." Rick said breathily, sliding his hand further round her waist as she propped herself up on her elbows. Kate's chest brushed his as he traced words on the silky skin of her back.

"I can think of worse ways to wake up Castle." She smiled, slipping her arms around his neck and reeling him in for a slow kiss. Kate savoured the feeling of his body pressed against hers. Rick's free hand went to her neck, his thumb stroking her jawline. Even after nearly 8 years he could still make her heart do little jumping-jacks in her chest.

Castle drew away a little, smiling, his eyes still shut, "I love you, so much."

Beckett answered the statement with another chaste kiss, before drawing her lips away reluctantly, still holding him close "Just not enough to let me sleep?"

"The boys have got to go to Kindergarten in an hour, and then we've got to go straight to work." Castle smiled sadly.

"Best make the most of the moment then," Kate bit her lip, slipping a hand into Castle's dark hair. Their lips met again, this time for a deep yearning kiss. It took all of her willpower to stop herself from tugging his t-shirt over his head.

"Mommy?" Joey's voice drifted over from the doorway. Kate released her husband and sat up to meet her son's teary green eyes.

"What is it Baby?" Kate asked worriedly and motioned for the little boy to come and sit on the bed. Kate moved to the right, allowing Castle to sit on the bed next to her.

Joey crawled up to meet his parents, "My finger hurts." His bottom lip was trembling slightly. He sniffed.

"Oh, Sweetheart, come here." Kate sighed empathetically pulling her baby boy in for a cuddle. He showed her his bleeding finger.

"Aw, don't worry buddy." Castle stroked his son's head, "How does a Spiderman band aid sound?"

Joey nodded holding his finger up, Kate kissed his tiny palm, cradling him like he was still only three hours old and not three years. By the time Castle returned to the bedroom, Alex had also snuck in and was tucked under his mother's other arm.

Castle admired the scene in front of him, suddenly picturing Kate holing another small blanketed bundle between the twins. The image was so unexpected Castle stood in the doorway in shock. Did he want more kids? Did she? They had said two was enough, but Castle had begun to think … maybe?

"Castle?" Kate prompted him, and Rick came out of his daze and put on a smiled.

He leant over Joey and put the Spiderman band aid on his chubby finger, then kissed it softly, "All better,"

Rick's heart fluttered as the little boy wriggled away from Kate and put his arms around his father's neck and whispered, "Thank you, Daddy." Rick marvelled over the two little people he and Kate had made, placing a hand over Joey's back as he held him; looking into Alex's bright eyes as Kate stroked his fine dark hair.

"Kids, Alex, Joey, I made chocolate pancakes!" Martha's sing-song voice broke through the silence of the cuddle. The boys scrambled, practically falling out the bed in eagerness. Romping out of the bedroom as fast as their small legs could carry them.

An hour later Beckett and Castle were kissing their small sons goodbye at the gate of 'Georgina Hart's' preschool. Kate watched as their identical little backpacks bounced on their backs. They turned round as they reached their pre-school teacher and sent their parents simultaneous adorable toothy grins. Kate waved; it was still hard to imagine not seeing them until the afternoon. She didn't know then, she wouldn't be seeing her baby boys for a lot longer than that.

The day crawled by slowly, with Castle easing it on with teasing as much as possible. There was an open-and-close 'the boyfriend did it' case and a truck-load of paperwork. Castle made it clear he was bored and Beckett was not oblivious to the only reason he was still there was out of loyalty. He did a little paperwork and was happy to ferry it around. Castle brought her one last coffee before he left at three to pick-up the twins.

"I'll see you later," he said, fighting the urge to kiss her, "I'm cooking."

Kate hummed at the thought of dinner, "I won't be late." She promised. He slung his coat over his back and walked to the elevator. Beckett rubbed her temples, settling back down into her work. Organising and shuffling as she pressed the end of her pen against her lips.

It was 3:27 when he called her. She picked up expecting a question about dinner, but his voice full of panic, the words caught in his throat, he could hardly believe what he was saying. She was flooded with emotions at his broken words, the waves dragging her under, as she gasped for air, tossed in a sea of horror, "Kate, Alex and Joey, they're missing."

**Savour this moment my friends, the next chapters won't be as quite as fluffy. The last sentence has put you on edge hasn't it!? I'm sorry about that. But you guys knew what you were in for when you read the story description! OH! And it'd be cool if you guys reviewed… by the way … ;)**


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